Posts by Nic Brough

Re: Stop spreading Windows FUD.

Sorry, but which versions of Windows and Linux are you using? 5 years ago, I'd agree with all but one of your comments, but now, it's obvious you aren't using the current facts.

From my personal experience...

On my laptop at home (which is an off-the-shelf job with a handful of random devices attached)

>Driver incompatibility,

XP is flawless

Vista can't cope with the graphics, sound, wireless or most of my USB kit. Hours on google still can't fix wireless or half the USB stuff.

Ubuntu failed on the wireless card, but 30 seconds on google fixed it

>recompiling the kernel

Nope, not needed for anything I've wanted to try out.

>An office suite that is more or less useless (mainly because the documents are formatted differently when opened in MS Office),

This is the one I still tend to agree with, but most of my work does not go to people who would read it in Office.

>Firefox that can't auto update ,

Eh? Have you used version 2 or above yet?

>The difficulty of installing apps that aren't in repositories

Repositories are as easy as MSI or self-installers (actually usually easier)

Non-repository applications are the same as windows apps that arrive with a long string of "unpack, copy, hack registry, insert cronbubbly in the doomwranger" style instructions.

The overwhelming majority of real users out there won't install non-repository apps - we just don't need them.

>Horrible hibernation support

XP - 99.9% (it bluescreens now and then)

Vista - 50% chance of it not restoring hibernated session, no reason given

Ubuntu - 99% (it fails to recognise that I have swapped the hardware in the DVD/CD/Floppy removable drive)

>A PDF viewer that can't display PDFs correctly,

Um, vi is not a PDF viewer...

>A major release every 6 months with a new kernel (that breaks apps and drivers compatibility)

XP - Fine

Vista - Service pack broke half the hardware I'd struggled to get working

Ubuntu - Never had an app or driver break on upgrade

Don't get me wrong - I'm not a Linux fanboy, and I'm not convinced it's ready for the casual user - I'm simply annoyed by the suggestion that this article is spreading Windows FUD when the "evidence" is either MS-sponsored anti-Linux FUD or 5 years out of date?

Or did I miss the "joke alert" symbol?

Yours, a Mac Fanboy

Tux, cos there's no iFlame icon...

I am shocked

No one has mentioned the <blink> tag or cheeseburgers yet. So...

http://icanhascheezburger.files.wordpress.com/2007/10/lolcats-funny-pictures-blink.jpg

I think we're ok because

>It said that courts should decide whether or not to force someone to disclose information which might be self-incriminating they should assess what the nature of the compulsion to disclose is, the number of safeguards which exist and the use to which the information might be put

The UK government has comprehensively demonstrated that all information that it gathers on individuals is either sold, lost, or given away. So there's the "What safeguards?" question. I also suspect most courts would not accept that "identity theft" is a valid "use to which the information might be put"

Versions?

>Obviously there must have been something before NT3 - possibly (assuming MS counts from 1)

Real geeks count from 0. Microsoft can't actually count at all.

Find the nearest Dr Who geek

I guess you missed Genesis of the Daleks? Davros specifically engineered the (human with dodgy 70s makeup) Kaleds into the green blobs we all know and love to hate, and then built the Dalek machine specifically for them. No remote control, it was designed symbiotically from day 1.

On the other hand, if you'd mentioned Cybermen, they had little remote control silver rat things that were more than capable of jumping on an assistant and making her scream until someone found the nail-polish-remover or a handy lump of gold...

Good for Dell

>Mac is NOT a good option, unless you're a chav fanboy, in which case, it still isn't!

It might not be a good option, but it's still a better option than a PC running windows.

The only reason I have a windows PC is for playing games, and if Wii or Xbox came with a mouse/keyboard combo for playing FPS games (they just doesn't work properly with a game controller), I'd happily format the windows partition tomorrow to get more space for my penguin.

As the tech support geek in my family, I've now recommended Macs to six relatives, and they've all gone for it, after seeing Vista. None of us are chavs.

Good for Dell, telling the truth!

Hmm

Nuclear power may well have a place, but I notice that the governments own figures

1) Ignore the cost of security (so they will be passed on to the public via tax),

2) Ignore the costs of waste disposal (no company in their right mind will sign up to dispose of waste without a huge subsidy)

3) That the stations to be built will be standard fission plants, for which we only have a maximum worldwide supply for 250 years of fuel (based on current consumption). If a lot of stations are built, it's feasible that we could run out before the end of useful life of the new stations!

4) Points out that we are at the end of the cycle of improvements for standard fission power - there's very little room left to make new stations more efficient (whereas we're at the beginning of the tech cycle for renewabls, so they'll get cheaper and better)

In other words, it's the most expensive and pointless option, and it's a plain stupid move.

On the other hand, if they went for breeder reactors, the fuel and longevity argument goes away (although the cost of security and waste processing still hit us all in the pocket), and hopefully, it won't discourage investment in fusion power.

TNT wasn't a suprise

I worked on their document tracking system. They need to look in the Brussels depot because that's where everything defaults to...